1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic lighter assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic lighter for use in connection with a lighter receptacle, the lighter receiving an item along at least one longitudinal axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional electric cigarette lighters have existed for many years. Many types of conventional lighters have been incorporated into vehicle dashboards. Many lighters are of the pop-out variety. Pop-out lighters are actuated by an operator depressing the lighter and contacting the vehicle""s wiring harness. During use, electrical resistance heats a heating element and an operator removes the pop-out lighter to light a cigarette. This type of system may require custom pop-out elements different between vehicle models. Commonly, a user cannot easily switch a pop-out lighter between different vehicle models, since each vehicle model may employ different sized receptacles.
The pop-out type lighter system is also dangerous, as a user must handle the hot lighter in an unsecured manner. Through inadvertence or accident, hot pop-out lighters may be dropped on the floor of a car causing a fire or injury to a user. Pop-out lighters are also constructed to unexacting standards, allowing the pop-out mechanism to easily fail, leaving the heating element to become progressively hotter damaging the vehicle or the user. Pop-out designs also provide no way to vent excess heat buildup around a lit item. In sum, while pop-out lighters have been used frequently in recent years due to their low cost, they have many detriments.
Other conventional lighters are built into a vehicles dashboard at a factory or custom shop and cannot be interchanged between vehicles without rewiring the vehicle. Limited types of conventional removable lighters exist which require a generally L-shaped construction pivotably about a pivot point. These conventional lighters extend dangerously and inconveniently into a vehicle""s user space risking easy breakage or damage to other items such as drink glasses, music players, and storage bins etc.
The non-linear and non-rigid conventional lighter designs cause stress concentrations about the pivot point or fixed junction in the L-shaped design. In sum, while L-shaped designs may still pivot about the axis of the receptacle they easily break, are unnecessarily expensive to manufacture and are more likely to mechanically or electrically fail during transport.
Conventional lighters also fail to provide convenient and transportable light sources for user convenience and safety. In some designs a light source is mounted on a dashboard in proximity to the lighter, in others a light is provided to illuminate the knob of a conventional lighter to make the knob visible at night or in the darkness to obviate the need for the driver to search for the lighter while driving.
Another difficulty presented with conventional designs is that little provision has been made to ease cleaning tasks and allow ash removal. In fixed conventional designs the unit had to be disassembled or vacuumed out. In removable designs, the ash was removed by shaking the device upside down.
Another difficulty with conventional designs is the lack of provision for efficient combustion. Efficient combustion requires access to an oxygen source and removal of smoke. Conventional designs do not allow easy air circulation and this may decrease the rate of ignition and generate incomplete combustion products dangerous to a user.
In summary, the problems of commercially available cigarette lighters include, but are not limited to:
1. Non-transferable between vehicles.
2. High manufacturing and replacement costs.
3. Low visibility and difficulty of use while operating a vehicle.
4. Limited smoke and ash escape limit unit lifespan and effectiveness.
5. Large size and interference with vehicle operation.
6. Fragile construction.
7. Safety risks through breakage and misuse.
An object of the present invention is to provide at least one invention that overcomes the detriments of conventional lighter assemblies discussed above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a robust lighter assembly that is easily portable and transferable between vehicles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter assembly that is easily accessed and used in sub-optimal visual conditions.
Another object of the present invention allows easy removal of ash for cleaning and exhaust of smoke during use.
The present invention relates to a lighter assembly for use in a receptacle. A rigid elongate body is frictionally retained in the receptacle and an engaging arm projects into an axial passage way. An item to be lit engages the engaging arm completing a switch and actuating a heating element to ignite the item. An insulator block supports the heating element and protects the heating element from damage during use. Vents allow smoke and ash to escape the lighter assembly and a lens assembly actuated by the engaging arm lights up for easy location
According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a lighter assembly, for use in conjunction with a lighter receptacle, comprising: a rigid elongate housing, the housing defining at least one central axis and being dimensioned to be engageably received within the receptacle, the housing having a first contact intermediate axial ends of the assembly for contacting one electrical pole of a power supply connectable to the assembly during a use, and a second contact at one axial end of the assembly for contacting another polarity of the power supply connected to the receptacle during the use, a lens assembly at the other axial end of the assembly, the lens assembly defining an axial passageway dimensioned to at least partially receive an item to be lit for passage through the other axial end towards the one axial end, a light source proximate the lens assembly, a heating means arranged to ignite a received end of the item when inserted through the axial passageway and moved to a predefined axial position relative to the housing, switch means responsive to movement of the item into the axial passageway, and the switch means electrically connecting the heating element and the light source to the first and second contacts only when the item is sufficiently inserted into the axial passageway, whereby the heating element and light source are energized when the item is inserted into the lighter assembly and positioned within the receptacle to ignite the received end and illuminate the lens assembly.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the light source is at least one of a miniature incandescent element, a LED element, an LCD element, and an electro luminescent element.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising at least a sloped rim on the lens assembly, the sloped rim coaxial with the axial passageway, and the sloped rim being at least one of a curved surface and an angular surface, whereby the sloped rim guides the item to be lit into a substantially axial alignment with the axial passageway and minimizes damage to the item during the insertion.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: at least a centering guide sleeve in the lens assembly, the guide sleeve being coaxial with the sloped rim, and a centering wall of the centering guide sleeve in smooth contact with a contact surface of the sloped rim, whereby both the sloped rim and the centering guide sleeve guide the item to be lit into the axial alignment with the axial passageway and prevents damage during the insertion.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: at least a first annular cavity defined in the lens assembly, the lens assembly being formed from at least one of translucent and a transparent material, the light source positioned proximate the first annular cavity, and the first annular cavity being effective to pass light, emitted from the light source during the use, around the lens assembly and enable an operator to perceive the lighter assembly.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: an inner cylinder assembly having a first conductive sleeve, the means for heating in the inner cylinder assembly, the inner cylinder assembly within the elongate housing coaxial the axial passageway, the conductive sleeve partially coaxial with the centering guide sleeve in the lens assembly whereby the received end easily slides from the lens assembly to the means for heating without damage, an annular cavity defined between the first conductive sleeve and the elongate housing, and at least one vent hole in the elongate housing in communication with the annular cavity, whereby combustion products from an ignited received end easily escape from lighter assembly and maintain a clean environment for future use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the heating means includes at least one of a coil heater, a substantially planar ceramic heater, and a non-planar ceramic heater, and the heating means being effectively resistive to electrical current when energized to ignite the received end when the item is inserted to the predefined axial position.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: means for blocking an insertion of the received end along the axial passageway beyond the predefined axial position, and the blocking means effective to physically obstruct at least a first portion the axial passageway to prevent an unintended over insertion of the item and damage to the heating means.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the heating means is a coil heater, and the coil heating being a wire coil connected in parallel with the light source to the switch means.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: an insulator block in the blocking means, the coil heater arrayed on a top face of the insulator block, the insulator block effective to both electrically insulate poles of the coil heater and support the coil heater during the use, a slot in the insulator block, an insulative retainer in the slot, and at least a first portion of the insulative retainer projecting from the top face of the insulator bock and both retaining the coil heater in a predefined arcuate shape and blocking the unintended over insertion of the received end, whereby the blocking means prevents the item from disturbing the coil heater while positioning the received end sufficiently proximate the heating means to easily ignite during the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: means for frictionally retaining the rigid elongate housing in the receptacle, whereby the lighter assembly is prevented from an unintended removal from the receptacle while allowing an intended removal and repositioning to alternative receptacles.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: at least one friction fit member in the means for frictionally fitting, the at least one friction fit member projection from the elongate housing, the at least one fit member elastically contacting walls of the receptacle during an insertion of the lighter assembly, whereby the lighter assembly is slidably retained in the receptacle, and the means for frictionally fitting including the first contact, whereby during an insertion of the lighter assembly in the receptacle, the means for frictionally fitting simultaneously engages the receptacle frictionally and electrically.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: an outer conductive shell in the elongate housing, the first contact extending from the outer conductive shell to contact the one electrical pole, the outer conductive shell including at least one vent hole, the at least one vent hole on a portion of the elongate housing extending beyond the lighter receptacle when the lighter assembly is inserted in the receptacle, and the vent hole in communication with both the heating means and the received end, whereby when the received end is ignited, smoke from the item passes through the vent hole and escapes the lighter assembly thereby indicating to an operator that the item is ignited.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the light source is at least one of a miniature incandescent element, a LED element, an LCD element, and an electro luminescent element, the heating means includes at least one of a coil heater, a substantially planar ceramic heater, and a non-planar ceramic heater, and the heating means being effectively resistive to electrical current when energized to ignite the received end when the item is inserted to the predefined axial position.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the rigid elongate housing is a substantially cylindrical housing.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the axial passageway is a central axial passage way in the lens assembly.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: an engaging arm in the switch means, the engaging arm elastically projecting into the axial passageway, and the received end contacting and deflecting the engaging arm during an insertion to engage the switch means to allow the heating means to ignite the received end, whereby the lighter assembly is responsive to an insertion of the item and idle when no item is inserted thereby increasing a safety of the lighter assembly.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conduction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.